Final Exam
by Robert Teague
Summary: The Mirta Chronicles Book III Mirta, Lucy, and Timmy as the first interschool team are sent to recover a powerful weapon before an evil Coven does.
1. Chapter 1

Final Exam 

This story was written for the entertainment of Winx Club fans, and no copyright infringement is intended. This story may be reproduced, provided no changes are made, and you let me know.

Author's note: This takes place near the end of senior year, after the events of "Losing and Finding".

Chapter 1

At the Cloud Tower School for Witches, an unusual meeting was taking place. Ms. Griffin, the Headmistress, was in the company of her friend and rival, Ms. Faragonda of the Alfea School for Fairies, and Saladin, head of the Red Fountain School for Heroics and Bravery.

Without preamble, Ms. Griffin began her explanation. "I have asked you here because I have heard some disturbing news, and couldn't risk a conference call over the ethereal waves."

Faragonda and Saladin looked at each other, then back at Griffin. She turned away and put her hand on her desk.

"Do you remember Bekisan, one of the planets destroyed by the Ancestral Witches before we intervened as the Company of Light?" she asked.

"Vaguely," replied Saladin, thoughtfully, "I'd never been there before, and we stayed long enough to confirm there was nobody left to save, then headed for the next world."

"I remember that too," said Faragonda, "It was a rather obscure world. The people pretty much kept to themselves."

"Correct," said Griffin, and turned back to them. "What isn't well known is that it was the home of the powerful techno-wizard Grandaeus."

Faragonda and Saladin gasped. THAT name they knew!

"So that's what happened to him!" exclaimed Saladin.

"Yes, he died in the destruction," confirmed Griffin.

Faragonda thought for a few seconds. "If I remember right, he experimented with magic-enhanced technology. Some of the things I heard he was working on were quite alarming."

Griffin nodded. "And the last thing he completed before his death was a device capable of destroying an entire planet."

Faragonda and Saladin gasped.

"I got a message from one of my students who graduated a few years ago. It seems an expedition to Bekisan is being arranged to look for the device, and my student thought I should know about it," said Griffin.

"Who is arranging the expedition?" asked Saladin.

"An obscure Coven named The Coven of the Thirteenth Dead Moon. I did some checking, and apparently they are keeping a low profile until they are poised for a power bid," said Griffin. "I commend their strategy, and their goals, but not their methods."

"Oh, my, this IS serious!" said Faragonda.

"Yes, and that's why I've called the two of you," replied Griffin, "Getting the device for myself IS tempting, I have to admit, but you both know how I feel about destroying whole planets."

"What do you propose, Griffin?" asked Saladin.

"I suggest we send our own expedition, to get the device first or at least make sure it can't be recovered," was the reply. "The team will be made up of one or two students from each of our schools. That kind of cooperation will look very good to the Council."

After some thought, Faragonda said, "I agree with you, Griffy. The device will be safer in our hands than any others, providing it can be found."

"Sounds good to me," said Saladin, "But let's review what's known about Bekisan as it is today, so we can make the best choice of student."

They went to the Cloud Tower library, and shooed the students out. Griffin spoke a 'subject' spell, and all the books with information on Bekisan flew from the shelves to her. With a gesture, the books arranged themselves in slots in a cabinet with a round mirror atop it. Using the mirror, they could visualize anything within the books on the planet.

They reviewed the information, but other than seeing the widespread destruction of cities, there was little about the planet as it is now.

"Not really very much here. I don't think there is anything post-attack in the Alfea library, but I'll be sure to check," said Faragonda.

"I'm sure we've got at least some recent recon data," said Saladin, "I have a contact or two I can ask for newer information."

"Let's collect what we can, and exchange it. Our chosen students can study it while preparations are made"  
said Griffin.

"Good idea, Griffy," said Faragonda.

"Then I suggest we meet in three days at Alfea with our students, and they can leave from there," said Griffin. "We dare not wait much longer than that."

"Oh, this is exciting," said Faragonda, "The three of us, united once again for a common cause!"

wcwcwc

Three days later the quad of Alfea was filled with students awaiting the arrivals. To keep the expedition confidential, a cover story had been spread. A student from each school would form a team sent to recover an artifact from an obscure world as a test, to see if such teams could be practical in the future.

The six girls of the Winx Club stood together, talking.

"I think it's great you were chosen," said Flora.

"Me too," said Bloom, "You'll uphold the honor of our school, no problem!"

"You are the logical choice," commented Tecna.

"I wish I was going," said Musa, "I heard the thing they're looking for is a unique musical instrument."

"Well, maybe you'll get to play it when they get back," answered Layla.

"Whatever it is, may the light of the Sun and Moon guide you to it, and then safely home!" said Stella.

The chosen student was standing with her eyes closed, blushing. She opened them and looked around. "Thanks so much, guys," said Mirta, "I'm going to do my best, no matter which Witch I'm paired with!"

"That's the spirit!" said Flora, hugging her adopted sister. "You take care."

"Hey, look!" said Nova, pointing, "Here comes someone from the direction of Cloud Tower!"

Indeed, two figures were flying toward the School for Fairies. Within a minute they landed in the quad. Many of the fairies, especially the underclass women, backed away from them. One was Ms. Griffin, who stood with quiet dignity, and the other was a familiar form, tall, gangly and green-haired. Lucy. She was wearing a large backpack.

Mirta started to go over and give her best friend a hug, but Tecna stopped her. "Remember decorum," she whispered,  
and Mirta nodded.

Lucy went over to them. "Mirta, good to see you," she said, then nodded at the Winx Club. "Fairies."

It was still a secret that Lucy and the Winx Girls were friends, and no matter how much they were bursting to give her a friend's greeting, they didn't want to reveal it. So they acted civil, but nothing more.

"So, you're the Witch Cloud Tower is sending?" asked Bloom.

"Yep. I'm top student, so I get the honor," Lucy explained.

"This should be interesting," said Mirta, "I'm the Alfea student going."

"Well, good for you," said Lucy, crossing her arms. She looked around. "So, where's the Red Fountain guy I have to put up with on this little jaunt?"

"Not here yet," answered Musa. "And if that thing you're going for is a musical instrument, be careful with it,  
huh?"

Lucy looked at her. "Maybe I'll break a string or two, just to watch a Fairy cry."

Musa's retort was drowned out by the noise of a Red Fountain ship arriving. It landed neatly in the quad near the entrance, and moments later the ramp lowered. Walking with dignity and the aid of his staff was Saladin,  
and behind him in his uniform was the chosen student.

"TIMMY!" cried Tecna, and ran to greet him. They hugged and exchanged a brief kiss. The rest of the Winx Club,  
followed by Mirta, who grabbed her own pack of supplies, and more slowly by Lucy, went to greet him.

"I want you to take care of my sister," said Flora with a smile, then leaned forward, "And our favorite Witch"  
she whispered.

Timmy grinned. "I'll do my best."

Behind them a large wasp flew over and landed on the Red Fountain ship. It sat for a moment, then flew inside,  
unnoticed.

The chosen students stood at the foot of the ramp as the three teachers who represented the Points of Magic came over to them.

"This is a first for all our schools, and we hope you will cooperate and succeed in this mission," said Faragonda.

"Yes," agreed Griffin, "It will look very good to the Magix Council if you do, so don't disappoint me."

"We've agreed on one other thing," said Saladin, "This will be the Final Exam for the three of you. Come back successful, and you're exempt from all other testing." He smiled. "How is THAT for incentive?"

The three students agreed they could go for that! With final goodbyes, they went aboard and Timmy closed the ramp behind them. He took his place at the flight controls. Lucy and Mirta sat at the side consoles.

"Here we go, ladies!" said Timmy, and the ship took off for Bekisan.

The ship lifted off, flew over the entrance, angled up and disappeared behind the clouds. Back at Alfea, the student gathering broke up.

"Now that they are on their way," said Faragonda, "Would the two of you care to join me for lunch?"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 

The realm of Magix fell away behind them, and was soon lost in the stars.

"Okay, our course is set, and we have about thirty hours flight ahead," said Timmy. He entered some commands, and a monitor lit up, counting down time starting from 29:48:05.

From the console on the port side, Lucy said, "Debris screens are up; sensors on wide sweep. Defensive screens at standby."

At the starboard side console, Mirta reported, "Generators operating at 56 percent capacity; thrusters at eighty-nine percent. Space drive steady. Life-support and other interior systems normal operation."

"Acknowledged," responded Timmy. He wasn't surprised. Both Cloud Tower and Alfea had a mandatory course of space ship operations, since there was no telling where a Witch or fairy would have to go in the universe for a job, or how they would get there.

"Everything's steady, we can relax, now," said Timmy. He turned to his shipmates.

Lucy and Mirta got up and hugged in the center of the deck.

"It is SO good to see you!" said Mirta with happiness.

"You too. I've missed you since we last were together," Lucy answered. Still under 'Witches Decorum Rules', she gave a small smile and let Mirta go after a few seconds.

Timmy came over to them. "Anyone hungry? I missed lunch for launch."

Lucy grimaced. "We're not gonna have to put up with puns like that the whole mission, are we?"

"Keep it up," Mirta threatened, "And I'll have to tell Tecna you're developing a sense of humor."

"Oh, is that what you call it?" asked Lucy, "I thought it was a sense of torture."

Timmy grinned, and laughed nervously. "Uh, well, anyway, cabins are here." He walked past them aft, and stopped at a door on his right. "This is yours, and I'll have the one across the hall."

"Bunk beds?" asked Lucy, looking inside, "I thought we'd get a cabin each." She tossed her backpack on the lower bunk, and Mirta's on the upper.

"Sorry, this ship is designed for four. The head is that hatch on the right; galley to the left." he explained.

"No, really? What was your first clue? The signs on the doors?" asked Lucy, looking annoyed.

"LUCY! Lay off the sarcasm! We're teammates and friends here, remember!" said Mirta in a forceful voice.

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Sor-ry! It's just that he's acting like we've never been on space ships before!"

"I- I didn't mean any insult!" said Timmy.

Mirta took a deep breath. "She knows. Lucy, you can drop the Witches Decorum now."

Lucy looked at her best friend, then at the Red Fountain student, then back at Mirta. She closed her eyes and took several breaths. She seemed to relax. "You're right. Sorry, Timmy, I forgot we're not enemies now. Well, you know what I mean."

"Yeah, okay. The better friends we are, the better our teamwork will be," he replied. "Now, what about lunch?"

Witch and fairy followed Hero into the small galley. Most of the floor space was taken up by a table with four chairs. To the left of the hatch was the food console. It was programmed to create a wide variety of dishes. A port to one side showed the stars sliding aft slowly.

They sat and ate their chosen food with little in the way of conversation. Afterward they returned to the control deck.

"Just before we left Red Fountain, some additional data on Bekisan came in," said Timmy, "Let's review it now,  
and get a better idea of what we'll be facing."

Sitting down at a side screen and keyboard, Timmy called up the data. The more they saw, the more worrisome it became.

The Ancestral Witches used dark magic to destroy buildings and people, but the magic didn't just disappear. It spread out into the surrounding woods and was absorbed by the plants and animals. As time passed, the affected life forms mutated, and rarely for the better.

Monsters and dangerous plants now infested the forest. The insects grew to enormous sizes, and became vicious.

The only good point was that the dark magic-affected area was only a few miles around the places where humans had lived. Much of the original flora and fauna was still there, but fighting a losing battle against the changed creatures. Eventually the entire planet would have a mutated biosphere.

"I recognize some of the mutations," said Lucy, "Some of the spells used have standard effects. Getting to the guy's home isn't going to be easy."

"I think those insects are going to be a real bother," said Mirta, "They're fast and deadly."

"Which is exactly why you need me," said a new voice.

Hero, Witch, and Fairy turned to find a stowaway floating behind them.

"Zing!" said Mirta to the Pixie, "What are you doing here? This is going to be dangerous!"

The Pixie of Insects nodded. "I know. Jolly did a reading with her cards, and said it was essential that I go with you."

"So you snuck on board, just like that?" asked Timmy.

"Sure did! You know how much I like adventure!" she replied.

Timmy turned back to the control board, and hit some keys. "The internal sensors didn't pick her up. Where were you hiding?"

"Can't tell you, I might need to hide there again," said Zing, smugly.

"We ought to turn around and take her back," said Mirta, "This is no mission for a Pixie!"

"We're more than an hour into the trip," replied Timmy, glancing at the countdown clock, "That would be a waste of time and resources."

"In that case, let's put her in a cage, and leave her there until we get back. Then she can be punished properly," said Lucy.

Zing gasped, and moved away from them. "Y- you wouldn't, would you?"

"Give us one good reason why not," said Lucy. She moved her hands and fingers in a specific pattern, and a bird cage appeared around the Pixie. It floated around her, instead of dropping to the deck.

"BECAUSE JOLLY SAID I WAS NEEDED!" shouted the Pixie, "AND HER PREDICTIONS ARE ALWAYS RIGHT!"

Mirta and Lucy looked at Timmy. "Well, she has a point," he conceded, "Tecna did some research with Jolly's prediction statistics, and she does have a 92.1 percent success rate."

Mirta felt sorry for the little stowaway. "Let her out, Lucy, She might come in handy."

"She IS here, and we can probably use all the help we can get," said Timmy.

Lucy looked annoyed, but didn't answer.

Zing saw Lucy's expression, and steeled herself to answer. "Lucy, I'll make a deal with you. Let me out and let me help. If Jolly was wrong and I'm not needed, you can punish me any way you want to."

Lucy stood up and went over to the floating cage. Zing moved back as far from her as possible. "Okay, I agree. And I'll make it even more interesting. If you win, you can punish me any way you want to."

The Pixie of Insects looked at the Witch with wide eyes.

"But let's get one thing straight now. You will do what we tell you to, when we tell you to. No acting independent. Got it?" added Lucy.

"G-got it," answered Zing in a tiny voice.

Lucy dissolved the cage, and turned aft. "I'm gonna take a nap. Don't bother me." She went to the cabin and slammed the hatch behind her.

"Wow, Zing, you really believe in Jolly that strongly?" asked Timmy.

"Of course I do," was the reply.

There was an awkward silence, then Timmy asked, "You hungry? The galley can whip up anything you want to eat."

Mirta winced. "Uh, Timmy, that might not be the best word to use right now..."

Timmy blushed. "Ooops, sorry, Zing."

"I'm not worried," said the Pixie, "Jolly's always right."

"I hope so, for your sake," muttered Mirta, watching the Pixie follow Timmy into the galley.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 

Five hours into the flight, a call came in from Alfea. The video screen showed Tecna on the other end.

"How are things going, Timmy?" asked the Fairy of Technology.

"Just fine, Tecna," he replied, "Ship's functioning well, and we're on course."

"Good to hear," she replied, smiling slightly. "Ms. Faragonda took us into her confidence on your real mission," said Tecna, "Just in case someone else needs to be sent after you. But I'm sure you can handle anything."

"We did have a slight change in plans, though," Timmy said.

"I guess that would be the presence of Zing," she said. "Jolly came to us and told us she was aboard, and why."

"Yeah, it was kinda surprising." he glanced around and said in a lower voice, "Lucy didn't like it at all.  
She's really upset."

"That's odd. They've met before. I wonder why she would be upset," said Tecna.

"Because a Pixie is slow flying, attracts unwanted attention, and doesn't have much in the way of magic," came the voice of Lucy from behind Timmy. She leaned forward into the camera pickup so Tecna could see her. "I don't want to have to babysit a useless bug on this mission. The recon files show the planet is going to be bad enough. We don't need the extra stress."

"Just because YOU can't see it, it doesn't mean she's useless." said Jolly, flying in front of Tecna. "I sent her with you because she has a function for the mission. You will fail without her."

Lucy snorted. "Yeah, right."

Jolly put her hands on her hips. "Don't forget about the other side of that bargain. If Zing proves useful, she gets to punish YOU any way she wants to."

Lucy was taken aback. "How did you know about that? That was between me and her."

Jolly smiled and held up a card. On it was the symbol of the Trader.

Of course Lucy was familiar with cards as a fortune-telling device. At the sight of it, she visibly deflated.

"Not so sure of yourself now?" asked Jolly, smugly.

"It's none of your business anyway, bug," said Lucy with a lot of venom in her voice. She turned and stalked away to the galley.

Zing flew over to the monitor from whatever hidey-hole she'd found. "Did you mean that? She'd let me punish her? For real?"

Jolly nodded. "Lucy is dark, not evil. She will stick to the bargain, even if it goes against her. Which it will."

"Wow! This will be a first!" said Zing with excitement, "A Pixie getting to punish a Witch! I'll have to think about what to do to her."

Before Tecna, Timmy, or Jolly could warn her to be careful about it, Zing flew away and disappeared.

"Oh, dear," said Tecna, "I really wish you hadn't said that. I can predict without magic that trouble will follow this."

Jolly looked at her cards and frowned. "Let me check something," she said. She landed on a clear spot on Tecna's desk, and did a reading. Then she turned to Tecna with a worried expression.

"You're right, I shouldn't have said anything. The outcome is now in doubt, and I don't know what to do that will put it right again," said Jolly, sadly.

"That's okay, don't worry about it," interjected Timmy, "I prefer to rely on logic, skills, and equipment to finish a successful mission, rather than magic cards."

"Don't forget a good working relationship between ALL your teammates is essential," put in Tecna.

"Basic Heroics 101," said Timmy. "I'll remember."

wcwcwc

The dead planet Bekisan rolled slowly beneath the Red Fountain ship as it orbited a couple hundred miles away. It looked pretty much like any other habitable planet; blue, white, and green from this altitude. A bright yellow desert appeared on the horizon, and grew to take over the visible land area. Then it receded aft.

The unique team was clustered around the sensor console, watching the readings as they came in. Zing hovered as far from Lucy as possible, and still be able to see.

"So far, so good," said Timmy, "I haven't picked up any spacecraft with functioning power plants yet. Maybe we got here before the others."

"I hope so," commented Mirta, "I want to get in and out as quick as possible. Do we know where the guy lived?"

"Not specifically," answered Timmy, "All we've got is somewhere within a few miles of the largest city."

"Great, that really helps a lot," muttered Lucy.

"Well, maybe you can find some more clues to narrow it down. Grandaeus' assistant was off-planet when the attack came, and after he died a couple of years ago his papers were donated to a university. The computer has copies of all of them." He gestured at the main computer console.

Lucy looked annoyed, but went over, sat down at the console, and called up the files.

After another hour, the remains of the planet's largest city, Beki City, had been identified. The visual monitors showed the devastation had been very thorough. No isolated buildings could be found, though. The residual magic in the woods was distorting the sensors.

"I've got something," called Lucy from the computer, as she closed the files. She came back over to the sensor console. "I found a side note that said the house was due east from Beki City."

"Good work!" said Timmy. He called up the sensor records, and they looked at the area indicated with no luck. Either it was well-hidden, was completely destroyed, or the sensors were blocked. He selected the area and made several hard copies as maps.

"Now we have a good idea of where we're going. Put these in your equipment, so we'll all have one." Timmy handed out the hard copies. Zing used a bit of magic and shrunk hers down to a size she could use.

"Okay, let's get ready to land," said Timmy, "I've picked out a place due east from the city, but outside the dark-magic-affected area."

Just then there was a loud, metallic BLANG!! and the entire ship shook. Lucy and Mirta jumped to their side consoles as Timmy took the forward.

"Defensive screens up, weapons coming on-line," called Lucy.

"Minimal damage to the ship," said Mirta, "I think that was just to get our attention."

"But why didn't the sensors pick them up?" muttered Lucy as she studied the readouts.

"Ahoy the intruder!" called a voice from the comm monitor, "You are trespassing, and we're giving you one chance to clear out!"

"That voice is familiar!" thought Mirta, and looked toward the monitor. On it was a female face with light pink hair. She had a nasty grin directed at Timmy. "Inez!" she exclaimed, then slapped her hand over her mouth. She hadn't meant to say that out loud.

"Who was that I heard say my name?" asked the Witch. "Who knows me over there?"

Reluctantly Mirta went over so the vid pickup could see her. "Um... hi, Inez..."

"Oh, yeah, Mirta! I remember you! You traitor to all witchkind! You busted me on Linphea to save some brat." The Witch sat back in her chair. "Didn't expect to find YOU here! Now all my planning for revenge is ruined. Oh, well, you can't look a gift Fairy in the mouth." She looked at someone off-camera. "Zee! Blast 'em!"

Mirta tried to return to her console, but was thrown off her feet by a second blast. She struggled over and got into it. She tapped a button on the side of the chair and a seat belt slipped around her waist.

"The screens held," she called to Timmy, "No further damage."

"Acknowledged," responded Timmy. "Lucy, see if you can return fire while I try to set a course."

Lucy gave her own nasty grin. "You got it! Let's see how she likes this!" She lined up the other ship in the targeting monitor, but the lock was spoiled by a third shot that put the Red Fountain ship in a spin.

"We've got an energy leak in the secondary power plant! I'm shutting it down! Main and batteries left!" called Mirta, her fingers flying over the keyboard.

"Targeting computer down! I can't get a lock!" said Lucy, busy as well.

"Okay, I'm going to the surface! It's gonna be a rough trip, so be ready!" called Timmy, as he entered commands.

The ships gyros ended the spin, and the ship moved away from the other. The witch's ship took several more potshots at them, all of which missed.

As they left the other ship behind, Lucy said, "They are NOT going to get away with this scot-free!" She lined up the energy cannon with her best guess, and hit "FIRE". A yellow lance of energy left the ship, striking the witches craft on the underbelly. It burned a hole in the hull, and small explosions could be seen going off inside.

The communications monitor suddenly came to life again. Smoke filled the cabin around Inez, who was smudged with soot. "Blast you to the Omega Dimension!" raged the Witch, "I'll get you for this, Mirta!" The screen darkened.

"We're hitting the outer atmosphere," said Timmy a few minutes later. "If there aren't any tears in the hull, we should be okay."

"Uh, Timmy, what if there are?" asked Zing.

"Then the friction will burn us up," he replied.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 

"B- burn us up?" asked the Pixie of Insects.

"Yeah, so let's all hope not. Now excuse me, I'm busy," said Timmy, giving his complete attention to the ship.

Zing left the control cabin for the bunk room. She slipped into one of the backpacks lying there, and found a comfortable spot to wait. She felt horribly lost and useless. Tears welled in her eyes. She just had to trust the human and Fairy and Witch to get them through.

For a few minutes the hull of the Red Fountain ship glowed cherry-red from the heat of reentry. It faded away as they shed orbital speed and approached the surface. Nothing happened, proving the hull integrity.

"Space drives offline," said Timmy finally, "Switching to atmospheric controls. Status report?"

"Targeting computer still offline," said Lucy, "The weapons seem to have frozen as well. I was lucky to get that one shot off. Main screens on standby, debris screens up."

"Primary power plant at 38 percent capacity, secondary plant shut down, batteries on standby. Internal systems okay, but there are some minor shorts. All in all, we're in pretty good shape," said Mirta.

"Acknowledged," replied Timmy, "The controls are sluggish, but the ship is responding. I think we can make our landing target."

Soon they were flying less than a mile above the trees, heading for their planned landing point. They had continued to lose speed as they flew.

A couple of miles, now," said Timmy, "Can I get an environment report?"

Both Mirta and Lucy tapped keys, causing the screens around them to change.

"Outside the magic-distorted area, there's nothing bigger than monjuu moving around," said Lucy.

"We're cutting it a bit close, Timmy," said Mirta, "Local sunset in five minutes."

"That's okay, we'll be there in two," answered Timmy.

Just as he said, two minutes later the ship was hovering above a clearing in the woods not too much bigger than it. Cautiously the landing gear extended, and the ship settled down safely. The passengers heaved a sigh of relief.

"Mirta, shut down the primary power and go to batteries. Those witches won't find us without an energy signal," said Timmy.

"On it," said Mirta, as she hit keys.

"Shutting down weapons systems, going to minimal defense screens. Anything else?" asked Lucy.

"I think that will do it," said Timmy. He hit some keys, and the lights suddenly went out, to come back on a bit dimmer, with a reddish tinge.

Timmy turned in his seat and heaved a huge sigh. "That was some excellent teamwork, everyone. We just might be able to pull this off."

"Yeah, yeah," said Lucy, "Enough with the pep talk. Since it's getting dark, I'm guessing we won't be searching for the house tonight?"

"It's probably too dangerous, seeing the kinds of creatures out there," said Mirta.

"Yeah, we need some time to recover, so we'll go tomorrow," said Timmy.

"Good. I'm hungry," said Lucy, standing up and heading for the galley.

"I could go for a bowl of manntah soup," said Mirta, releasing the seat belt and standing.

wcwcwc

As they ate, Mirta looked around. "Where's Zing?" she asked.

Lucy snorted. "Probably hiding, hoping the ship won't burn up."

"I think we'd better find her. That reentry was pretty rough; I hope she didn't get hurt," said Timmy, standing.

Lucy rolled her eyes and muttered to herself, but went with them to look.

They spent the next twenty minutes looking everywhere in the confines of the small spacecraft, but had no luck. Mirta and Lucy went into their cabin to discover their backpacks had fallen off the bunks.

"Uh oh," said Lucy, "I hope you didn't pack anything dangerous in anything breakable..."

"No, my potion ingredients are in plastic," said Mirta. She reached for the pack and stopped. There was an odd noise coming from it.

"Do you hear that?" asked Mirta, pulling her hand away.

"Yeah," answered Lucy, "Let's see what it is." She gestured. "Levetatus!" The pack rose into the air, the main flap falling open. Lucy made a pulling gesture, and out floated Zing, sound asleep.

Mirta caught her gently, without waking her.

"Good work," she whispered to her best friend.

Lucy nodded, and whispered back, "Thanks. Now put the bug somewhere, and let's go." She magically returned the pack to its resting place.

Mirta put Zing on the pillow of the top bunk, and thought to herself that Lucy was being kinder than her words about the Pixie.

The two friends left quietly and reported their find to Timmy.

"Well, I'm glad you found her," said Timmy. "Now lets go make some repairs."

wcwcwc

Many of the repairs were minor, and took only a few minutes to do. The casing on the secondary power plant had suffered a crack. They had no way to repair it, so just left it shut down.

"When we leave, we'll have to run everything from the main," said Timmy, "It will handle the extra load, and we'll keep the batteries in reserve."

"I still want to know why the sensors didn't pick up the witches ship," said Lucy, sitting down at the weapons console. She ran a diagnostic, but found nothing wrong. She pursed her lips, thinking. Suddenly an idea hit her.

"Maybe..." she muttered, as she checked the databanks. What she was looking for suddenly became very visible.

"I found it!" she called to the others, who came over to see. "Someone inserted this extra program into the sensor data to keep the other ship's identity beacon from alerting us, and rejecting their ship's configuration." She shook her head. "I just bet..." She looked at the code. "Uh huh, thought so. This is a Microwitch Software product. Somebody knows about this mission, and doesn't want us to succeed."

"We'd better alert Alfea!" exclaimed Mirta.

"We can't," said Timmy, "We've been in comm silence since we got halfway here. We'll worry about who did it when we get back."

"How did that program get into the computer?" asked Mirta, "Is there a traitor at Red Fountain?"

Timmy looked indignant. "Of course not!"

"Don't look at me," said Lucy, "Griffin really wants this mission to succeed. And since I'd love to get out of finals, I do too."

"And nobody at Alfea would do it..." said Mirta. She added, "It couldn't have been Zing, she doesn't know or understand anything about computers. Now, if Digit was with us, I might be suspicious."

"Now, just... wait a minute!" said Timmy, snapping his fingers, "Just before we left Red Fountain, we got that last file on Bekisan. Saladin commented he thought it was strange, since his contacts had already sent him what they had."

"So it might have come in with it," said Lucy. She pulled up the computer log files. After some looking, she said, "Yep, here it is. It was set to run when we looked at the file." She directed an anti-virus program to isolate the extra program, so they could keep it as evidence, but it couldn't interfere any more.

"There's no way for us to know where it came from or who sent it, since it was routed to the ship through the Red Fountain net," said Timmy, adjusting his glasses.

"So it's out of our hands for now," said Mirta, and yawned. "I vote we get a good night's sleep."

"Seconded," said Lucy, standing up.

"Sounds good to me," agreed Timmy. "I'm setting the wake-up for seven. Good night." He headed for his bunk room.

wcwcwc

After changing into sleepwear, Witch and Fairy climbed into their respective bunks. Mirta found Zing still asleep.

When they were both young, Lucy had learned a Mental Instant Messaging spell, and taught it to Mirta. They had both gotten into trouble with their parents staying awake and "IMing" for hours. Its range was limited to less than a mile, but still had been useful. Now it came in handy so they could talk without disturbing their third roommate.

MIRTA?

HMMM?

IT'S BEEN GREAT BEING WITH YOU AGAIN. I'D BEEN WONDERING IF THERE WERE ANY CHANCE OF A Fairy AND Witch WORKING TOGETHER LIKE THIS.

YEAH, LOOKS LIKE WE FOUND A WAY.

There was a minute of silence.

MIRTA, I NEVER TOLD YOU, BUT WHEN YOUR FAMILY DISOWNED YOU, THE PIXIE IN THE RED DRESS WHO WEARS ROSES TOLD ME THAT YOU AND I WOULD BE FRIENDS FOR LIFE.

Mirta smiled to herself. WELL, IF ANYONE WOULD KNOW, IT WOULD BE AMORE. SHE'S THE PIXIE OF LOVE. AND FATE'S FOUND A WAY TO KEEP US TOGETHER.

YEAH...

Another minute of silence followed.

I HOPE OUR "LIFELONG FRIENDSHIP" WON'T END TOMORROW.

ME TOO, LUCE! G'NIGHT...

NIGHT...

And the mental airwaves fell into silence. The quiet of the cabin was broken only by the regular breathing of three very different people.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 

A persistent noise woke Fairy, Witch, and Pixie. As Lucy and Mirta stumbled out of their bunks, Zing weaved over still half-asleep and hit the 'off' button. The other two muttered thanks as they got their wits about them again.

One of the things Timmy had shown them during the trip was the mission suits they would be wearing. Right now they looked like white jumpsuits hanging in the closet. But they would automatically adjust for the size of the person wearing it, and keep a regular temperature inside, regardless of what it was outside. The suits would also take on the hues, shades, and tones of the surrounding foliage as camouflage. It also had a homing beacon woven in, so the wearer could always be found.

Since Zing had not been planned for, there was no mission suit for her. But that didn't matter, since she used her cosplay magic and created one for herself.

After a good breakfast, they checked their supplies one final time and got ready to leave the ship. Timmy lowered the ramp, and they went out into the humid morning air of Bekisan. Behind them, the ramp retracted, and the ship went into 'wait' mode.

The waiting woods before them seemed no different than any other forest on a habitable planet. No monsters ran out to eat them, no giant stinging insects to impale them, just ordinary sounds.

Timmy was aiming a portable sensor unit at the woods, slowly moving it back and forth.

"Anything?" Mirta asked.

"Yeah... seems to be some refined metals grouped together to the east-northeast," he replied, "It's the only sign of intelligence I can find, so that might be what's left of Grandaeus' home. That way."

The four of them stepped into the woods, the three magical beings making an involuntary shudder as they passed through the edge of the dark magic. Timmy didn't seem to notice anything.

They were all rather tense for a while as they walked, looking for a path leading in the right direction and also keeping an eye out for predators who might enjoy having them for lunch.

As they began to relax, Timmy suddenly said in a low voice, "So far so good, but keep your guard up. I don't like this forest at all."

"Me either," agreed Zing, "I feel like something's about to happen."

Mirta closed her eyes and listened for the Voice of Nature. As her Nature Fairy side had grown within her over the last couple of years, she became more sensitive to the lives of plants and animals. Living things changed as time passed to better fit the environment. But the mutations forced by the dark magic were unnatural, and Nature was very disturbed by it.

She sensed nothing threatening very close to them, but farther away... she shuddered.

"You okay?" asked Lucy, concerned.

"Yeah," answered Mirta, looking up at Lucy, "There's some really nasty stuff out there, but no immediate threats. Timmy, what about your sensors?"

"The readings for those refined metals are stronger, and I'm still not picking up anything else of that nature, so I think the odds have improved considerably," he replied.

Lucy suddenly looked around her, then took on a confused expression. "I could have sworn I felt something watching us," she explained, but the dark magic is so strong I can't really tell. It might have been an animal, or it might have been those witches."

They waited and watched for a few minutes, but nothing happened. "Let's move on," said Timmy, and they did.

wcwcwc

Several miles to the west, in the ruins of Beki City, a damaged spacecraft sat. Its passengers were three in number,  
and all were witches.

A young woman with light pink hair, bright orange eyes, and skin with a distinctly reddish cast was leaning over a hole torn in the deck. Another woman with very dark skin was half in the hole, and mechanical sounds issued from it, along with a trail of smoke.

"How much longer, Megan?" asked Inez, hands on hips, tapping her foot.

"The more you ask that, the longer it takes," came a half-growled reply, "Now leave me alone, so I can fix this."

"I'm the captain here, and I want a progress report!" said Inez in a loud voice.

"I don't care if you're the Queen of Eraklion, if you don't leave me alone, I'm gonna turn you into a grease trap for the food synthesizer!"

Frustrated, Inez stomped away and went through the hatch leading outdoors. Another Witch was standing facing east, holding a sensor device similar to Timmy's. She had light blue hair cut short, intensely blue eyes, and light blue skin.

"Useless piece of junk," muttered the Witch, tossing it away. "Magic works better anyway."

She raised her hands to begin a spell, but Inez stopped her.

"Zee, what are you doing? Do you want them to detect us? I said no finding spells!" yelled Inez.

"With all the dark magic out there, they won't notice anything," answered Zee. "Besides, the ship's sensors are down, and this portable unit couldn't find Cloud Tower if it was sitting in Griffin's office."

Inez growled. "Why can't I get a break around here?"

"Look, you explained why you want that girl Mirta, and I'm with you, as long as it doesn't interfere with our mission. But we have to FIND her, first!" said Zee, folding her arms.

"Okay, okay, you're right. Go ahead, just don't tip them off!" said Inez.

Zee cast her spell, and a cloudy mirror formed in the air in front of her. It stayed dark for a few moments, then greenish streaks appeared, moving this way and that, like it was searching. Finally it stayed in one place, the picture cleared up, and it zoomed in to reveal three humans and a Pixie walking along a path.

"Okay, which one is Mirta?" asked Zee, studying the picture.

"The redhead. I researched her thoroughly to plan my revenge, and that tall girl is Lucy, a senior Witch at CT. Also Mirta's best friend," answered Inez.

Zee looked at her with doubt. "A Witch and a Fairy as best friends? How did that happen?"

"They're from the same realm, and have known each other most of their lives. Mirta was a Cloud Tower student, but transferred to Alfea. She's a senior. I don't know the nerd, but I'd bet he's a Red Fountain student," said Inez, shooting daggers at Mirta with her eyes.

"The nerd's kinda cute. If he knows anything about mechanics and electronics, maybe I'll keep him for a pet," said the voice of Megan behind them. Her skin was very dark, she had blond hair and light violet eyes.

The other two snickered briefly.

"Hey, is that a Pixie?" asked Zee, pointing.

"Yeah..." said Megan, narrowing her eyes. "I hate Pixies."

"So we've got a Witch, a Fairy, a Specialist, and a Pixie out to get the planet buster before we do," said Zee. She chuckled. "Sounds like fun."

"It's disgusting," interjected Megan, "They NEED to be destroyed. That's setting a bad precedent."

"You two can have the other three, but Mirta is MINE!" stated Inez, "Got that?"

"Sure, no prob. Have your revenge while we have fun," said Megan.

"Oh, I'm gonna have fun too. LOTS of fun. Let's go!" said Inez, and floated off the ground. Megan followed suit.

"HOLD IT!" shouted Zee.

"What?" asked Megan.

"Think about it a minute," she replied, "Sensors are down so we don't know where Grandaeus' house was. THEY on the other hand seem to know where they're going."

"Okay, so?" said Inez, eager to be off to her revenge.

"Why put ourselves out? Let them take all the risks and get the planet buster first," said Zee.

"And THEN we take it from them, and get rid of them at the same time!" finished Megan.

"Right!" agreed Zee, grinning.

"While we wait, we'll finish repairs to the ship," added Megan.

"I like the way you ladies think," said Inez, landing, "We should team up more often."

And the dead city rang with evil laughter.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 

It was time for lunch, so the members of the multi-school expedition sat at the base of some trees that formed a clearing and ate. Timmy left his sensor unit set for "alarm" while they did so.

"Lucy, I'm curious about something," said Timmy, "Jolly said you were "dark, not evil". What's the difference? I thought all Witches were evil to some degree. That's why they're Witches."

Lucy sat and chewed, staring at Timmy. She was trying to decide if he was being insulting or not.

Mirta piped up and answered the question. "That's kind of a prejudiced statement, Timmy. It's really a matter of attitude and preference," she explained.

Lucy nodded at Mirta, indicating she should proceed.

"See, Fairies and Witches get their winx, their magic, from things they are attuned to, like Musa with music, or Stormy with tornadoes. That's a matter of genetics, not choice. But in addition Witches can also draw on negative emotions, which Fairies can't, or don't.

Fairies like to be in groups, while Witches tend to be loners. Along with that is a disregard for rules and authority. That might be mischief or mayhem, but not necessarily evil."

Lucy had decided Timmy was being curious, not insulting, so she said, "Right. And a Witch is more likely to seek revenge, while a Fairy would forgive. Me, I have ethics, but it's 'situational ethics'. I do what I feel is right according to the situation. And I'll even bend those if it would benefit me more."

She shook her head, and her green hair fell in front of her face. She brushed it aside. "I don't embrace evil, Timmy. I'm not out to take over the realms, or kill and destroy for no reason other than to kill and destroy."

Timmy looked thoughtful, but still a bit unsure.

"Look at it this way," said Lucy, "If you hired me to be your bodyguard, for instance, I would be loyal and you could trust me to do my job as long as the contract lasted. It's bad business to betray your employer. Nobody would hire me if I did. But if someone offered me the same job at better pay, I'd take it as soon as the contract ran out."

"In my case, I'm still between Witch and Fairy even after three years at Alfea," said Mirta, "The source of my winx, pumpkins, isn't evil or violent. But I still find it easier to draw on negative emotions. Doing that makes me feel bad because I'm trying to be a Fairy, but even that adds to the power." She sighed. "That's why I still set off magic detectors as a Witch. I have friends, and like being with them, but I also like being by myself," she added.

The philosophical discussion suddenly came to a halt when they all noticed something odd. The branches of the trees over them were rustling and cracking, but there was no wind.

"That's not normal," commented Timmy, dropping his sandwich and picking up the sensor unit.

"No, really?" asked Lucy, sarcastically.

Zing flew up above them, seeming like she was listening to something. She gasped in alarm, and turned to the three below.

"There are insects coming! Lots of them, and big, too!" she said loudly.

Mirta seemed to be concentrating as well. "It's the trees calling them!" she cried, "The dark magic has changed them so they work together! We'd better get ready for an attack!"

They tried to stand up, but could not. Their suits seemed to be stuck to the trees. They all struggled, but could not free themselves.

"What is going ON!" said Lucy, straining to pull free.

Zing flew down and looked behind Lucy, as the Witch strained to one side so Zing could see.

"It looks like the tree sap has hardened against you, to hold you for the insects!" she said.

"I see, it's symbiosis!" said Timmy, "The trees hold you while the insects kill and devour you, and the tree gets the leftovers! Very efficient!"

"Don't waste time admiring it, DO SOMETHING!" shouted Lucy.

"I'll try communicating with the trees, maybe I can persuade them to let us go!" said Mirta.

"Better hurry," said Zing, "The insects will be here in about a minute."

Mirta closed her eyes, but after a few seconds opened them with a disgusted look. "Ugh! The trees are pure evil! Argh, my mind feels dirty after that! They won't let us go." Then she looked more hopeful. "I might have something to dissolve the sap," she said, and started rummaging through her backpack.

"HERE THEY COME!" shouted Zing, pointing.

Indeed, a swarm of giant wasp-like insects each nearly a foot long were approaching rapidly. An angry buzzing filled the air as they angled downward toward their (supposedly) helpless prey.

As Mirta rummaged, Lucy called her dark magic, and her hands began glowing dark green. Timmy pulled his pistol and released the safety.

In an act of sacrifice, bravery, or utter foolhardiness, Zing flew up to meet the insects. "Stop!" she shouted to them, "We mean you no harm! Don't harm us! Please!"

But they ignored her, changing course slightly to flow around her like a river. Zing flew out of the stream toward the ground and made her way back to the others.

"Don't look at this!" Timmy fired once, and several small balls of light were released. They flew up and exploded releasing a very bright light that disoriented the insects. the 'stream' broke apart as blinded wasps flew around dazed and confused.

Lucy threw magic blasts at them, hampered a bit in her aim by the sap holding her. Many of the insects fell to the ground, dead, but many more remained.

Timmy fired at random, since the insect's pattern had been disrupted, and many more were destroyed.

"Here it is!" said Mirta triumphantly, holding up a bottle. She unscrewed the cap, and poured some down her back. With a sound like cloth ripping, the sap let go. A bit more from the bottle, and she was free. She ran over to Lucy, doing the same to her, then Timmy.

Now standing, Witch and Specialist fired at the insects, blasting them out of the sky. A few changed course to come at them from a different angle, but Zing could handle this. She took control of them one at a time, and made them fly into the trees, splattering against their partners in symbiosis. The trees didn't care, it was just more food to them.

"I've got our stuff!" announced Mirta, all three backpacks in hand. But the others were too busy to acknowledge her.

"Uh oh, my pistol's getting low on charges," said Timmy, looking at a gauge on the grip.

"Okay, then, stand back," said Lucy, "I'm gonna finish this!"

Having an idea of what Lucy was going to do, she dropped the backpacks, grabbed Timmy by the sleeve with one hand, and gently grabbed Zing in the other. She hit the ground with them.

Behind them, Lucy paused to gather her strength, took a deep breath, and shouted "FIRE BLANKET!" From her hands erupted an enormous gout of dark green fire. It spread outward as it moved away from her. To her and her companions, the heat was tremendous, but not nearly as hot as the wasps felt.

The entire remaining swarm was engulfed by the flame, and none had any chance at all. They were burned to a crisp, falling from the sky as blackened exoskeletons and ash.

The flame stopped, and Lucy fell to her knees, then down to her hands, sweating heavily and trying to catch her breath. Timmy and Mirta ran over to her, Zing flying behind. Mirta helped her sit up, and Timmy handed her a canteen of water.

Lucy took a deep draught, and gave a sigh as she handed the canteen back. "That took a lot out of me," she said, "I hope I won't have to do it again any time soon."

"You got all of them," said a tiny voice, sadly.

The three humans looked at the Pixie, who was sitting on the ground with tears falling.

"What's wrong?" asked Mirta.

"I-- I killed. I killed insects!" she looked up at them. "I'm the Pixie of Insects, and I KILLED them! I'm so ashamed." She started crying in earnest, then.

"It wasn't your fault," said Timmy, "They were evil, and trying to kill us! You just did what you had to!"

Zing looked up with anger. She flew up and got into Lucy's face. "No, it's HER fault!" she pointed at Lucy. "SHE chose this place to stop. If she hadn't, I wouldn't have had to kill!" She got closer to Lucy, who sat shocked. "I-HATE-YOU!" Zing shouted, then flew away.

wcwcwc

On the witch's ship, repairs were progressing nicely, and would be finished soon.

As Zee was replacing a control panel, something moving outside caught her eye. "Hey, look at that!" she said, pointing. She was joined by Inez and Megan as a mass of green flame could be seen above the trees. Then it faded away.

"That's where those others are," said Inez, "We'd better check on them."

A spell was cast, and they saw the three humans sitting together in a clearing resting. There was no sign of the Pixie.

"Looks like they got out of some trouble," commented Megan.

"Yeah," said Zee, "Good thing, too. I really don't want to have to go fetch that weapon myself."

The spell ended, and they went back to fixing the ship.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 

The expedition headed on toward the collection of materials the sensor unit had detected. Silence reigned in the group as Mirta and Timmy worried, and Zing and Lucy fumed.

Mirta dropped back to walk beside her best friend. "You know Zing didn't mean it. She's just upset. It wasn't your fault. That spot looked good to me, too, and the Voice of Nature didn't warn me."

"Just keep that bug away from me, or I'm gonna squash her," Lucy said forcefully, never looking at Mirta.

Mirta stopped walking to stare at Lucy, and was left behind. Shaking her head, she hurried to catch up.

wcwcwc

The woods opened into a large clearing with a few trees scattered around. The grass was high, and the area had obviously been tended to in the past.

"We're here," announced Timmy, making adjustments to the scanner.

Brickwork and splintered wood that had been the remains of a house were nearly covered in vines. Nature had wasted no time in reclaiming what had been hers. The three of them put down their packs.

"Can either of you tell anything?" he asked, meaning what couldn't be picked up by the scanner.

Mirta closed her eyes and listened to the Voice of Nature. "There are some... um... snakes, I guess, hiding in the bricks. They should get out of our way, but be careful."

"The leftover dark magic is masking anything I might be able to find," said Lucy, concentrating as well.

Zing flew in a wide circle around the remains of the house. "There are ordinary insects here," she reported, "And most are harmless. Let me know if you get bitten; I'll probably be able to reverse the venom's effects."

Timmy walked around the remains, studying the scanner's readouts. He looked very serious while he did, and his three female companions stayed silent and watched. At last he looked over to them. "I find five distinct power sources here, and all seem to be buried. We're going to have to dig them up to find the bomb."

"Well, I can make up a powerful explosive potion," offered Lucy.

"But how accurate is it?" asked Timmy, "Can you pinpoint debris and remove it without damaging the power sources?"

"No, it's not selective..." she responded, "But I can also make up enough acid to make a big hole! No, on second thought, never mind. That will just dissolve what we want. I don't think I have anything else that can help."

"Then it's MY turn to be of use around here," said Mirta with a grin. With a circular gesture crossing her fingers over her head, she converted to Fairy form, the survival suit disappearing as she did. She flew up and over the remains of the house.

"Flora taught me this, but I'm not nearly as good with it as she is. You'd better stand back some," she said, and the others did, standing together with Zing landing on Timmy's left shoulder away from Lucy.

Mirta held out her arms, palms down, and closed her eyes. She concentrated, and an orange glow formed around her hands. Nothing happened. She continued to hold the pose, and a faint sheen of perspiration formed on her brow. The orange glow grew brighter.

"Come on, come on," she muttered to herself, trying harder.

Suddenly a faint rumble came from underground, and the brick and wood seemed to move slightly. Then in the middle of the ruins the ground broke open and thick roots emerged, heavy with dirt, and holding many manufactured objects.

"There," said Mirta, wiping her brow as she landed. "Hopefully what we want has been brought to the surface."

Timmy took a reading. "Good work!" he said, "I count all five power sources right there."

"So, let's see what we've got..." said Lucy. She gestured toward a mound of debris away from the house, the remains of a well, and water came up to the surface. It lifted and splashed over the roots and objects, washing them off. She was careful and no water hit the expedition's members.

"I didn't know you could do that!" said Mirta, staring at Lucy.

"Yeah," grinned the taller girl, "I found out this year I have an affinity for elemental water magic. It's only medium grade, though. No luck at all with the other elements."

Inspection of the objects brought to the surface proved most of them to be ordinary things. A monitor, some books, part of a chair, and some things partially melted and unrecognizable.

Timmy identified the five items of interest, and Mirta directed the roots to set them down carefully. Two proved to be ordinary large batteries used in dwellings not connected to centralized power sources found in cities. The database in the sensor unit identified the third as a safe box containing a radioactive element. That was quickly reburied.

The fourth thing was a blackened and charred sphere with wires emerging in several places. The power present in it was very low, and none of them had any idea what it was.

Lucy brought over some more water and cleaned off the fifth object. It was a three-sided equilateral pyramid about sixteen inches tall that glowed like translucent fire opal, with all the colors of the rainbow visible within it. It was brighter toward the center, deep within.

"I think we've found it," said Timmy in a low voice.

Lucy bit back a sarcastic reply. She too was awed to be in the presence of a device capable of destroying a planet.

Zing noticed something on it, and took a closer look. "Wow, the directions for using it are carved right into it."

"Let's get it back to the ship and get out of here," suggested Mirta. "I've a feeling we're about to overstay our welcome."

As small as it was, it proved to be too heavy to pick up. Witch and Fairy each tried a levitation spell, and that worked, but found out they couldn't move it very quickly, or for too long. They took turns bringing it with them while the other rested, but after about an hour of travel, they set it down again.

"I think this thing has an inertia spell on it, to make it hard to move," said Mirta, panting a bit.

"You're probably right," agreed Lucy.

The two consulted together for a few minutes, and worked out a way to move it. Light and dark magic simply cannot work together, so Mirta was forced to tap into her reserves of dark magic, since that's all Lucy had available. They cast the same levitation spell, and found it much easier going after that.

They came to a familiar spot, and at an unspoken agreement, stopped.

"Let's go farther south, then turn west," suggested Timmy, "I really don't want to go back under those trees again."

That was met with agreement by the others, and they moved away down another animal-created path.

wcwcwc

"Did you hear that?" asked Inez, as the three witches stood in their ship, watching through a spy-spell the thee students and Pixie as they traveled.

"Yeah, that will bring them to the river gorge in about twenty minutes, and that's a perfect place for an ambush"  
replied Megan, studying a map.

"And now we know that thing is heavy, and it's going to take all three of us to get it here quickly," said Inez.

"Well, then, let's go scout out the area, and get ready!" said Zee, and all three laughed. Then they transported themselves away for the confrontation.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 

The sound of running water grew louder as the four of them traveled. The strain of moving the bomb was slowly taking a toll on the Witch and Fairy, but they were handling it. A factor in their favor was that they knew each other well, and cooperation came naturally.

Timmy led the way, as Zing scouted ahead, alert for any insect attacks.

At last they stood on the bank of the river, and Lucy and Mirta gratefully set the bomb down to take a rest. The river ran in a roughly east-west direction, cutting off any chance of going further south. But that was okay; the ship was now due east of them.

The river ran swiftly between banks some twenty feet wide, and was about seven feet below them. It wasn't really very loud, as few rocks were above the surface.

"We're making good progress," said Timmy, "We'll be back to the ship in about two hours at this rate."

"Ooohh, sorry, not gonna happen," said a new voice.

They looked around, on the alert for anything. On the other bank the three witches appeared, nasty grins on their faces.

"Thanks so much for finding the bomb and getting it this far, but we'll take it from here," said Inez. Megan and Zee laughed.

Timmy pulled his pistol and aimed at them. "You're not gonna get it, and if you don't leave, you ARE gonna get it."

Four Witches and a Fairy stopped and stared at him.

"Um... I mean..." he said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

"Never mind, we know what you meant. Now hand it over, and we might spare your lives," threatened Megan.

Lucy's hands began to glow dark green as Mirta changed to Fairy form. They got set to attack.

Zing had flown across the river, and found herself behind the witches, who seemed not be aware of her. When they threatened her companions, she took action. She called all the flying, biting, and stinging insects that were within her range to her, and commanded them to attack the witches.

"No?" asked Inez, "Good, I was hoping you'd say that-- OW! Something bit me!" She slapped at her thigh.

"OW! HEY! What was that?" shouted Zee, slapping her shoulder.

Megan suddenly bent forward, quickly putting her hands against the back of her head. "YEOW!" she shouted, rubbing hard at the spot.

The three witches found themselves the center of attention of a swarm of different insects. Some were tiny, while others were as much as three inches long. Some flew, some crawled up their legs, and some hopped onto them.

While their enemies were distracted, Mirta flew up above the trees, Lucy took a position behind a large oak-like tree, and Timmy got behind an outcrop of rock, ready to dive for cover if needed. There was no time to move the bomb, but they knew it wouldn't be a target.

Inez, Megan, and Zee slapped and waved at the insects that attacked for a few moments, but that had little effect.

"ENOUGH OF THIS!!" shouted Inez, "INSECTUS REPELLUS!!" She held out her arms and a light green glow formed around her. It moved outward to cover her companions and the bugs were forced away from them by the glow.

"INSECTUS INCINERATUS!" shouted Zee, and a blue glow formed outside of the insects, effectively trapping them. The bugs that touched the blue glow burst into sparks and were gone. Zee made a 'come here' motion with her hands, and the glow moved toward them, zapping the bugs as it did. When the blue glow met the green glow, both vanished, leaving the witches free and all the insects dead.

"That couldn't have been natural, even on this planet," commented Megan.

"It wasn't," answered Inez, "We were attacked, I felt Command magic somewhere behind us."

Zee scanned the others across the river. "I don't see their pixie anywhere; I'd bet it was her."

"Go find her and swat her," ordered Inez. Zee nodded and vanished.

Zing had watched with horror as her attack was neutralized, and tears came to her eyes. Those brave insects...

"AHA!" said a voice behind her, but before she could move, Zing was grabbed, and not gently, by Zee. The Witch held her up to gloat. "So, that was YOUR little trick, was it?"

Without warning, a jolt of what felt like lightning ran up Zee's arm, and she let Zing go with a yell. She looked at her hand and found a red welt on her palm. A half-inch-long stinger was sticking out of it.

"Grabbing the Pixie of Insects isn't the smartest idea," commented Zing, and flew into the branches of a tree.

With a yelp, Zee pulled out the stinger, and tried to find the pixie. Unsuccessful, she spitefully threw a blast of magic at the tree, blowing all the leaves off it. But by that time, Zing had flown down the side of the trunk away from the Witch, and vanished in the bushes without a sound.

Growling in frustration, she vanished and returned to the others.

Meanwhile, the students and witches were taking potshots at each other. The tree protected Lucy, though it was slowly being torn to pieces, while the rock kept Timmy safe. Mirta was easily able to avoid the magic blasts. Inez and Megan had put up a combined magic shield that kept attacks away.

Zee reappeared beside them, holding her hand.

"Get her?" asked Megan, taking another shot at Mirta.

"No," growled Zee, holding up her palm, "Blasted little thing stung me!"

"Never mind," said Inez, "Get rid of those three, and a pixie won't be much trouble."

Zee added her share to the magic barrier, making it completely surround them, so Zing couldn't attack again.

Megan had been concentrating her fire on Timmy, while Inez divided her attacks between Lucy and Mirta. "The Fairy is mine," said Inez, "You get the Witch."

Zee shook her hand. "That really hurts," she muttered, then started throwing blasts of blue magic at Lucy. The tree was slowly being splintered, and Lucy had few chances to retaliate.

Timmy had recharged his pistol, but his shots were not very effective against their protective barrier. But the Blinding Light charges forced them to pause and cover their eyes. That was something, at least. The rock he was using as cover protected him, but was suffering some damage.

The tree Lucy was behind was rapidly splintering, now, and she couldn't head for another without risking a magic blast taking her out.

Inez was keeping Mirta busy, dodging her blasts, and trying to return fire. Mirta tried a few of Flora's plant magic spells, but didn't have time to do them correctly, rendering them ineffective.

With a shout of triumph, Megan hit the tree one last time. It shattered into toothpicks that flew in all directions, leaving Lucy vulnerable and in the open. When she dared open her eyes as the sawdust and splinters settled, she saw the nearest tree was twenty feet away.

"This is it, Witch," shouted Megan, a bright blue glow surrounded her hands, and she took aim.

Mirta saw what happened, and the danger Lucy was in. "NO!!" she shouted, and flew down toward her best friend. She flew below the top of the bank for protection, and came up again directly between Lucy and the witches. "I've got you, Lucy," she said, grabbing her by the hands. She intended to carry her toward the thicker woods.

Seeing what was going on, Inez shoved Megan in time to spoil her shot.

"HEY! Wha-" said Megan.

"The Fairy is MINE!" growled Inez.

As Mirta grabbed Lucy's hands, Inez threw the strongest bolt of green she could muster at her. It struck her on the upper left of her back, burning off her left wing, and making a hole into her body six inches across and five deep. The heat cauterized the wound, so not much blood was released.

"GOTCHA!!" Inez shouted.

Mirta looked at Lucy with wide-eyed surprise. She opened her mouth, and blood trickled down her chin. She let go of Lucy's hands and staggered back. Her eyes began to dim as she dropped her hands to her sides.

Shocked, Lucy was unable to move for a moment, staring at her friend since childhood wounded and bleeding in front of her.

"Luce--" whispered Mirta, more blood accompanying the word.

Startled out of immobility, Lucy lunged toward Mirta, but it was too late. She toppled over the edge of the bank and fell toward the river, blood trailing behind her. She hit the water and disappeared under the surface, the blood rising to the top only to be swept away.

Timmy came out and stood beside Lucy, as did Zing, looking down where Mirta's body had disappeared. They could only stare, open mouthed with shock.

Mirta was dead.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 

The spell of shock was broken by laughter from the other side of the river.

Lucy, Timmy, and Zing looked at the Witches, who were high-fiving.

"After two years, I got my revenge! And it-is-SWEET!" said Inez.

"What's the matter, Witch?" called Megan, "You should be GLAD there's one less Fairy in the Universe!" They all started laughing again.

Timmy, Lucy, and Zing had been standing and staring at the spot where Mirta vanished, tears in their eyes. Now they looked at their enemies, and their faces grew hard.

Lucy's hands began to glow. But instead of her usual dark green, the glow was black, with a green edge. It grew, spreading up her arms, and enveloping her entire body. The depths of love she had felt for Mirta had turned to rage and hate, and she was converting it to power. Far more power than she had ever been able to muster before.

It grew until Timmy and Zing had to get away from Lucy, lest they be taken in by it. The three witches had stopped laughing, and were looking at Lucy. All three could feel the power she was giving off, and it was beginning to worry them.

"What's the matter with you?" asked Zee, confused and a bit afraid.

Lucy raised her hands and screamed in pain and rage. "SHE-WAS-MY-BEST-FRIEND!!!" she yelled at them. Suddenly she lifted a few inches off the ground, and in a burst of speed was across the river.

She slammed into the witches protective barrier, shattering it like glass and plowing into them hard. They tumbled to the ground in pain.

Most witches relied on their magic to protect themselves, and never learned self-defense. Lucy was an exception. Having been plain-looking as a child, she had been teased badly by some other kids, and since she hadn't found any magic yet, learned to use physical force to protect herself. Now she wanted the witches to feel the same pain she was going through. And they would.

She picked up Zee, slamming her in the gut and throwing her against a tree. She hit her head and fell to the ground, dazed. Blood seeped out of her hair.

Lucy turned and kicked Megan in the kidney hard. Megan groaned and grabbed the spot, trying to roll away from the attack. A stomp on the witches hands increased the damage, and incapacitated her.

Then she turned to Inez. Picking her up by the collar with both hands, Lucy held her up, looking deep into the other's eyes.

Inez was terrified by what she saw there. Her death was rapidly approaching, and she couldn't stop it.

"Is your revenge still as sweet?" Lucy asked, shaking the Witch. Inez was unable to speak, just making a keening noise. Lucy drew back a fist and hit Inez in the face as hard as she could, breaking her nose and cheekbone. Inez tried to scream from the pain, but it was weak.

Lucy turned and threw Inez down so she landed partially on top of Megan and Zee. Then she took several steps back away from them. The green-edged black glow had never left her, and now she was going to use it.

"Now I'm going to take from you what you took from Mirta," she said, and raised her hands. The glow flowed up her body to her hands, growing bigger and more intense. Lucy looked down at her enemies with contempt. "Three less witches for one less Fairy is a fair exchange," she said to them. Her power was gathered and ready to use.

The three witches groaned and tried to beg for their lives, but were too hurt and terrified to be coherent. All they saw was death standing before them.

At that moment an apparition appeared in front of Lucy. It looked like Mirta, but it couldn't be. It had to be a ghost.

The image grabbed Lucy's arms below the magic glow with gloved hands, and stopped her from throwing death at the witches.

"NO, LUCY! DON'T! DON'T KILL THEM! PLEASE!" the ghost shouted.

Confused, Lucy paused, staring at the vision.

"Lucy, don't! I don't want you to go down that path! I'll lose you forever if you do! Please, calm down! It's okay, I'm here, I'm here!" it told her.

"M- Mirta? It's you? How? Why?" said Lucy, and the glow began to fade.

When it was completely gone, Mirta let go of Lucy's hands and took a step back.

Lucy, and across the river Timmy and Zing, could only stare.

Mirta had changed. She was now wearing a short, white, sleeveless dress and orange gloves that came nearly to her shoulders. A black corset covered her middle, and low on her hips rode a dark red belt whose buckle was a stylized pumpkin. The wire "shoes" wrapped around her ankles and down to her toes. Her wings were large and light green, with darker spots of blue.

"What's happened to you?" Lucy asked, looking her up and down.

"When I saved you from the magic bolt, I earned my Enchantix form! It healed me as I evolved!" Mirta explained. "I feel great!" She turned around so Lucy could see her from all sides.

"You look wonderful!" said Lucy, "And for more reasons than that."

Mirta turned to the witches, who were still nearly immobile, but staring at her. "I guess I should thank you, Inez, it was you who allowed me to achieve my final Fairy form! Thank you!" She smirked at the fallen Witch. "And here all this time I thought you hated me!"

She turned back to Lucy. "C'mon, let's go." She took her friend around the waist, and flew them back to the other side of the river, ignoring the witches behind them.

Reunited with the others, Timmy gave her a hug. "I'm so glad you're okay! And congratulations!"

Zing flew down to her, and when their eyes met, they locked.

"You're beautiful!" exclaimed Zing.

"Zing, you're... you're... adorable!" answered Mirta.

Zing flew into Mirta's arms, and they hugged as well as they could, considering their size difference.

"I've always wanted a Fairy to bond with, and now I've got one!" said Zing, with excitement.

"And I'll never be alone again!" said Mirta, looking at Zing with something akin to love.

"Should I be jealous?" asked Lucy with a smirk.

"What's happened?" asked Timmy, "You two have known each other for years. Why would you be bonding now?"

Zing perched herself on Mirta's shoulder, and looked at the Specialist. "I've always found Mirta interesting, but as long as her dark magic was greater than her light, I couldn't bond with her. But now the light far outweighs the dark."

"She's right," said Mirta, "I can feel it. It's now a lot easier for me to tap into my winx than it had been. I'll use any dark magic I have left as a final resort."

Lucy grabbed Mirta's hand and pulled her close for a hug. "I'm so happy you're okay, and that you've completed your evolution. I was so scared and angry." She held Mirta away from her. "You stopped me from going down a road into ultimate evil, and I'm very grateful." They hugged again. "My best friend..." Lucy murmured.

"Lucy, I'm glad you're okay. Considering how dark your magic was, I guess I mean a lot to you," said Mirta.

"You always have, even when I was mad at you," replied Lucy.

After a little time, Timmy said, "Let's go. We've still got a bit of a trip ahead, and I don't want to be around when they recover."

Lucy snorted. "It'll be a LONG time before that happens. But you're right, we need to go."

A levitation spell in Mirta's Enchantix form easily picked up and moved the bomb. And they headed down the edge of the river toward their ship, the injured witches forgotten behind them.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Aboard the Red Fountain ship, they secured the bomb and got ready to leave. Before the ramp was retracted, Lucy turned to the Pixie. "Zing, let's go outside. We need to talk," she said.

Timmy and Mirta turned to look at them, and Mirta returned to human form.

Zing glanced at Mirta, who nodded, and followed the witch outside. Lucy went to a tree away from the dark-magic affected area, and leaned against it. She folded her arms and looked at Zing.

"Well, you were right and I was wrong. You were useful on this mission," she said. "I lost the bet, and now it's time for me to pay."

"You're admitting you lost, and you're letting me take the prize?" asked Zing, surprised.

Lucy nodded. "I always pay my debts, bug. So, what are you going to do to me? Agony spell? Skin rot? Send those giant wasps to sting me?"

"Well, I admit I've thought about it since we made the bet," said Zing, "But I'd never do those things to you.  
No, I've got something much worse in mind." Zing grinned.

That made Lucy uneasy, but she hid it and stood up straight. "I'm not afraid," she told Zing, "You have a Witch in your power, and you'd better make the most of it."

Zing flew up so she could look Lucy in the eyes. "I sentence you... to be a friend to all Pixies, forever."

Lucy blinked. Her brow furrowed while she thought about it. When the implications came clear, she realized that it WAS much worse than any physical pain the bug could have inflicted.

"ARE YOU SERIOUS?" she finally shouted, startling Zing who flew back from her a bit.

"Yes, I am," replied Zing, folding her arms and looking smug.

"But why? What's the big idea?" asked Lucy.

"You already have Fairies as friends, but their Pixies are afraid of you, for one thing. For another, we DID work together on this trip, and it would be easier in the future if there wasn't fear and distrust," explained the Pixie of Insects.

"You hate me. You said so," Lucy shot back.

Zing looked sorrowful. "I'm really sorry I said that. It wasn't your fault, but I felt guilty about... what I did, and I blamed you."

Lucy tilted her head slightly, staring at the pixie.

"I'm really, really, sorry," added Zing, "I'd rather be friends."

Lucy looked down, thinking.

After a minute, Zing said, "Lucy, I can't really force you to be friendly with other Pixies, that would be just as wrong as hating you for what wasn't your fault. All I really want is for you to... expand your circle. We might be useful to each other in the future. Everyone would benefit."

"Don't have much choice, anyway," muttered Lucy. Maybe it wouldn't be too bad...

"All right, I accept," replied Lucy, "On condition that it be kept secret, like my friendship with the Fairies."

"I wouldn't let you be humiliated in front of other Witches, so that's reasonable. Agreed," said Zing.

"Then let's get back to the ship, and get out of here," said Lucy. She started walking toward the craft at a good pace.

Zing tried to land on her shoulder, but Lucy stopped her. "No, don't," said the Witch, "I may be your friend now, but it's too early for that. I need time to adjust."

Zing nodded in understanding, and flew on ahead.

wcwcwc

"We're airborne!" Timmy announced half an hour later. He guided the ship above the trees, where it pitched up,  
and began gaining altitude.

"Repairs are holding up," said Mirta, "Main power at 42 percent capacity, batteries on standby. Internal systems all show green." Zing sat on her shoulder, watching, but was utterly baffled by what her bonded fairy was doing.

"Debris screens up, no sign of any other craft," reported Lucy.

"Acknowledged. Hitting space in fifteen seconds," said Timmy. Then: "Switching to space controls; setting course for Magix. Mirta, is the cargo still secure?"

Mirta hit a couple of buttons. "Yes, it hasn't moved."

"Still no sign of any pursuit," said Lucy.

"Good. Going to star drive... now," said Timmy, and hit a control. The stars began rolling slowly aft. He hit another control, and the countdown timer showed 30:01:46.

As they stood up from the controls, Mirta said, "Lucy, what happened to your glow? It isn't green any more."

The Witch was a bit embarrassed, with Timmy standing there, but she answered, "When I thought you had died, all I could think of was taking revenge. All the emotions I was feeling got converted to power, and that changed the color of my magic."

She lifted a hand and a ball of black with a green edge appeared. It's like a breakthrough for me, and this level is now my norm."

"Wow..." said Mirta, looking at the ball, "I can feel it from here. That's a lot more powerful than anything I've ever seen you create before."

"I'm pretty sure that I'm now the most powerful Witch in Cloud Tower, and it's thanks to you," said Lucy, and put her hand on Mirta's shoulder with a smile.

"Well, let's eat," said Timmy, for once realizing he should refrain from commenting.

This idea was welcomed by all, and they headed for the galley.

While they ate, Mirta looked at her best friend. "What did you and Zing talk about outside?"

Lucy stopped in mid-bite. She glanced at Timmy, but realized as Tecna's boyfriend he should know too.

"My punishment from Zing," she answered, "From now on I have to be a friend to all Pixies."

Mirta smiled. "I think that was pretty wise of you, Zing. It's been a barrier for Lucy to be accepted completely."

Zing nodded, but didn't say anything. To Mirta, the Pixie of Insects looked oddly uncomfortable.

wcwcwc

Back on Bekisan, the three witches were dragging themselves into their ship. A rushing noise in the distance caught their attention.

"They're leaving! We've got to hurry, if we're going to catch them!" said Inez, starting up the ramp. The other two groaned, but followed.

The three witches settled into the chairs at their consoles, and began the sequence for takeoff.

"I'd be more willing to do this if I got some healing first," grumbled Megan.

"Stop witching and keep working. You can heal after we're on the way," said Inez, adding, "I'm hurt too, ya know."

Zee rolled her eyes, but kept quiet. That blow to the back of the head had her feeling dizzy.

"Activating main power," said Megan, tapping controls. A blinding blue-white light and loud ZZZAAAPP! caught them by surprise. Dense electrical smoke filled the cabin.

"What happened?" sighed Inez.

"Short in the main bus," said Megan, studying readouts, "It'll take an hour to fix."

"Well, get to it," ordered Inez.

"No, not until I've healed. And don't start with me! Even with this setback, we'll catch them. Our ship is faster than theirs," said Megan, and turned to her cabin.

"I'm with her," said Zee, standing up but having to grab the chair to stay upright. She followed the other witch.

Inez actually agreed with them, but would never let them know that. She followed the others, and they spent some time healing themselves and changing out of ruined clothes.

They grabbed food from the synthesizer and got to work on the electrical short. Other repairs that had been ignored while they fought with the students were also made. They had to open the vents and get the smoke out, as well.

"I think we're ready," said Megan, sitting down at her console.

"About time," muttered Inez.

Megan rolled her eyes but didn't say anything, knowing any more delay would be blamed on her. She activated power,  
and within a few minutes they were spacebourne, and in pursuit of the Red Fountain ship. 


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter

Some five hours had passed since leaving Bekisan, and it was time for a sleep period. All four of them were very tired,  
and with good reason. They were at the control consoles making adjustments.

"Okay," said Lucy, sitting at the port console, "I've set the sensors to alarm if the Witches' ship comes within range,  
but I doubt it will. We've got too much of a head start."

"Me either," said Timmy, "You really did a number on them."

"Well, yeah, they deserved it," was the reply.

A few minutes later they were settling down. Since Zing had bonded with Mirta, room on her bunk was put aside for the Pixie.

It was only about fifteen minutes since they had laid down, but Zing could tell by Mirta's regular breathing that she had fallen asleep. Lucy, on the other hand, was still awake and a bit restless. Zing left her spot on Mirta's pillow and flew down to the lower bunk.

"Lucy?" Zing said, softly.

"What?" replied the Witch, turning over to face the Pixie. Her green eyes reflected the low light in the room.

Zing landed on the edge of the bed and sat down. "Can we talk some more?"

After a moment's silence, Lucy said, "Why not? It's not like I can sleep right now anyway."

"Were you really going to kill those Witches?" asked Zing.

"I was ready to, until Mirta stopped me," was the reply.

"I'm glad she did. I don't want anything to happen to you," said the Pixie.

Lucy made no reply, but her eyebrows lifted.

"Her Enchantix form is beautiful, isn't it? I can't describe the feeling I got when I saw it," said Zing.

"Yeah, it is. But getting it was the last thing on her mind. All she wanted was to protect me." Lucy paused, then added "I wonder if a Witch has ever caused a Fairy to get that form before."

"I don't know. but Ms. Faragonda might," said Zing. "You really love her, don't you?"

"You know I should swat you for asking that," said Lucy, sharply.

Zing gulped, and started to move away from her.

"But since we're friends now, and you're her bonded Pixie, I won't. I'm not gonna answer, though," she added.

Zing stood up and started to fly off, then stopped and turned back to Lucy and sat down again.

"Was there something else?" asked the Witch.

"I want to say I'm sorry," started the Pixie. "I'll lift the punishment from you. It was wrong of me to do that, anyway."

"No, you won't lift it," answered Lucy, "You'll leave it just like it is."

This unexpected reply stunned the Pixie of Insects. She took a moment to recover her senses. "Why would you submit to it? Don't you hate it, and me for putting it on you?"

"Speaking as a Witch, yeah, I do," said Lucy, then she chuckled. "But accepting it is making you suffer, so I can have my revenge without lifting a finger."

After a long silence, Zing said, "I don't understand."

"You wouldn't; it's Witch logic," was the reply. "But other stuff is involved, too. See, when I first came to Cloud Tower, I really admired Icy, Darcy, and Stormy. I SO BADLY wanted to become one of the Trix. Mirta tried to warn me, but I pushed her away, thinking she was jealous. Then they humiliated me badly, and that made me see who my real friend was. But it was still a long time before my pride would let me admit it."

Lucy turned onto her back and put her hands behind her head.

"Except for Mirta, I've never had any close friends. I've never been part of a group. With the Trix I saw an opportunity to become powerful, popular, and feared." She glanced at the Pixie, who was looking a bit confused. "Those are the kinds of things Witches want. You wouldn't understand because you've always been part of a group, and don't care about power."

"Oh..." said Zing.

"With the Winx Fairies, I'll never be one of them, but they accept me as I am, and are my friends," said Lucy, "I guess that's close enough. The punishment you gave me isn't so bad, and I don't really hate you for it. You're making me be a friend to all Pixies, but what I want to know is, will other Pixies be MY friends?"

"I-- I don't know," admitted Zing, "That's one reason why I wanted to lift it."

Lucy snorted with laughter. "I see. You obligated me to something that has to go both ways without knowing if the 'other way' will work. That makes my revenge sweeter, especially if I'm rejected. But I'll keep my promise anyway."

Zing sighed. "You've really got me good, even though it's supposed to be you being punished."

It was all Lucy could do not to laugh out loud and wake Mirta.

wcwcwc

At the fifteen-hour mark, Timmy called Red Fountain. A three-way call was quickly set up, and the ship's data and mission records were forwarded.

"I gather everything went well?" asked Saladin.

"We got the... uh, artifact, sir, but we did have a couple of run-ins with some witches," said Timmy.

"I see. Good job, Timmy. I'll be looking at the logs with much interest." Saladin replied.

"Lucy, report," said Griffin.

"Mission successful, Ms. Griffin," the witch replied, "And... I've tapped into new depths of power within. I'm stronger now than I've ever been."

"We'll test that claim when you get back," was the reply, and the Cloud Tower Headmistress fell silent.

"Mirta?" asked Ms. Faragonda.

"Guess what, ma'am? I got my Enchantix!" said Mirta with a big grin.

"Wonderful! You'll have to tell me all about it!" said Faragonda, "And I can't wait to see you in that form! I've wondered what you would evolve into."

"She looks great!" interjected Timmy. "Uh, please don't tell Tecna I said that."

"That's not all! Zing has bonded with me! I finally have a pixie!" Mirta almost squealed.

"I'm sure the Winx Club girls and their pixies will be very happy for you! I'll let them know, and tell Tecna you're fine, Timmy. I promise not to mention the other comment."

Timmy blushed red. "Thanks, ma'am."

wcwcwc

They did not realize that the witches ship, still far behind and outside sensor range, was slowly catching up with them.

"Don't worry," said Zee, "We'll catch them before they reach Magix."

"We'd better," said Inez, "You know what will happen to us if we go back to the Coven empty-handed."

All three witches tried to repress a shudder, but were unsuccessful.

"Blasted Mirta!" raged Inez, "It's all her fault! When I've got her in my power, I'm gonna rip her wings off, and stuff them down her throat."

"I want that witch," said Zee, "Imagine her defending those... those goody-goodies, when she should have been on our side!"

"And I want the Specialist!" said Megan, "Instead of keeping him for a pet, I'll just rip his knowledge of mechanics and electronics out of his head, and leave him a vegetable!"

The three laughed, enjoying their fantasies. 


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 11

"Dropping below light speed," announced Timmy, "Can I get a status report?"  
"Main drive reducing to 34 percent capacity; batteries on standby. Systems all green," reported Mirta.

"Debris screens up; defensive screens on standby; weapons systems standby. No sign of... wait a second, a ship just came within range, and it's closing rapidly," said Lucy."The computer has identified the ship. It's those witches, like we figured."

"Oh, brother," said Timmy, "They sure are persistent. Let's see if we can get to Magix before they catch up." He did some navigation calculations, and frowned. "Magix is on the other side of the sun from us. "We're going to have to do some fancy footwork to get home without a fight," he said.

"Defense screens up; weapons coming on line," reported Lucy, and glanced at Timmy. "Just in case."

"We should be to Magix in about forty-two minutes," said Timmy.

"At their speed, they'll catch us in eighteen. Looks like we're gonna have to fight," said Lucy, and grinned. THIS time, the weapons and targeting computer were working.

"Timmy, can you call Red Fountain for backup?" asked Mirta.

"There's no direct connection with the sun between us. Having to relay will slow it down, and I doubt any ship could reach us in time anyway," he replied. He looked at Mirta. "This will be our fight."

"Oh, no," whined Zing, and gripped Mirta tighter.

"Don't worry, Zing; we showed 'em before, and we'll show 'em again," said Timmy, with confidence.

The pixie wasn't really reassured, but smiled wanly.

wcwcwc

Eighteen minutes later, Inez appeared on the main comm screen. "Are you going to give us the bomb, or do we have to pry it from your cold, dead fingers on your cold, dead ship?"

"Here's your answer!" shouted Lucy, and fired the main gun. The energy splashed off the other ship's screens, doing nothing more than making it rock a bit.

"If that's the way you want it!" said Inez, smirking. "Zee, now!"

A tight beam of red emerged from three places on the witches ship, converging to one spot on the Red Fountain ship,  
just over the engine. The normally invisible screen began glowing a soft yellow.

"What IS that?" yelled Lucy, tapping controls.

"Don't know," answered Timmy, "Never seen a weapon do that before!"

"It's overloading that section of the screens," interjected Mirta; "It will fail in fifteen seconds, unless we can get away from the beam somehow!"

"On it!" said Timmy, hitting the thrusters. The distance between the two ships increased, but slowly.

Lucy fired several more times at the other ship, trying to hit the emitters for the red beams, but their screens were too strong.

Laughing, Inez reappeared on the comm screen. "Change your minds, yet?"

"Don't think so," replied Timmy, "Whatever happens, you won't be getting your grimy paws on it."

Inez held up her hand so her perfect manicure could be seen. "Grimy paws? Better look again! It doesn't matter anyway; your screens will be down in a few seconds. You can't escape!" The screen darkened.

"She's right," sighed Timmy, "Their ship is faster." He looked at the navigation monitor. The positions of their ship,  
the witches ship, the sun, Magix, and the other planets in the system were indicated. He thought for a few seconds.

Just then the power flickered. "Screens down," shouted Mirta.

"We have just one choice left," said Timmy, "Stand by for a major drain on main power!"

To the horror of Lucy and Mirta, and Zing's confusion, Timmy hit the controls for the star drive. Using it inside a system this close to a star was very dangerous; the ship could be twisted into a six-dimensional shape, and themselves as well.

The ship's lights went out, replaced by the red emergency lights, and a shudder and groan came from the ship. The other ship vanished, and suddenly the sun was VERY close.

"What did you do?" yelled Lucy.

"I put the ship on course for the sun. They will NOT get the bomb! Grab your stuff and get to the lifepod, we have about three minutes!" Timmy hit a button, and a hatch opened in the deck. It was to the emergency escape craft.

Witch, fairy, and Specialist grabbed their backpacks as Zing flew around in circles, utterly panicked, her mind blank.

The three climbed in, stowing their gear to the side. Timmy hit the 'Hatch Close' button, and the panel started sliding shut.

"ZING!!" shouted Mirta, but the pixie paid no attention. She was completely out of her depth.

The hatch continued to close.

"We can't leave her behind!" shouted Mirta, tears beginning to form.

"We won't," said Lucy, grimly. She held out her hand, and a dark green beam of energy lept out and struck the pixie,  
enveloping her. Lucy pulled her hand back, and the beam retracted, pulling Zing with it. She was brought into the small craft with a second to spare.

The hatch closed, and Timmy hit some controls. "Stand by, we're leaving! Might be rocky!"

Several bangs were heard as the explosive bolts holding the escape pod were blown. A brief roar from the launch thrusters took them away from the ship, and took a course for Magix that would evade the sun.

As their flight smoothed out, they looked at the ship. No damage could be seen from the outside, but the ports were dark. On the navigation screen the witches ship came into view, chasing the Red Fountain ship.

wcwcwc

"Let them go; catch the ship! The bomb is still aboard!" shouted Inez.

"We're getting too close to the sun for comfort," reported Zee.

"Never mind that! We HAVE to get the bomb! Now do it!" ordered Inez, forcefully.

Zee shrugged and tapped controls. The ship surged forward after the abandoned craft.

"Can you get a tractor beam on it?" asked Inez after a few seconds.

Zee hit controls. "Yeah, but it's not effective at this range."

"Then get closer!" said Inez.

"NO! We have to veer off! The heat's affecting the ship! Systems are starting to break down!" reported Megan.

"That fairy is NOT going to beat me again! I WANT THAT BOMB!!" shouted Inez. She reached past Zee and accelerated the ship. The Red Fountain craft, now glowing a dull red on the side toward the sun, grew larger.

"We aren't going to make it!" screamed Megan, looking at the navigation display. "The sun's gravity is overpowering our drive!" She looked at Inez. "We're dead, and it's your fault! She closed the distance between them and hit Inez in the same spot Lucy had.

Ignoring the fighting witches, Zee studied the situation. There might be one chance for them to live... she tapped controls and prayed to the Darkness.

wcwcwc

On the escape craft, three sets of eyes looked on in horror as the Red Fountain ship vanished into the sun's heat,  
followed a few seconds later by the other ship.

"That's that," muttered Timmy.

"Here," said Lucy to Mirta. She opened her hand, and Zing lay there, calm but still shivering. Mirta took her bonded pixie carefully from Lucy, and tried to comfort her.

wcwcwc

The escape pod landed in the quad of Alfea. Faragonda, Griffin, and Saladin were waiting for them, as well as a number of fairies, witches, pixies and specialists. The hatch opened, and they climbed out, little the worse for wear.

They were immediately mobbed by everyone, and it took some time to restore order. It was quickly spread what they had really gone after, and Musa forgave Lucy her comment about breaking strings.

wcwcwc

The next day news had been spread, and congratulations given all around. Mirta's Enchantix form was a hit, as was her bonding with Zing. The pixie had recovered, and was now much better.

Lucy was already top student at Cloud Tower, and her amplified power made the other witches even more afraid of her,  
which is just the way she wanted it. If they knew she was really just a big softie, having fairies and pixies as friends, she would never make it out of her school in one piece.

Everyone met at the foot of the steps to the Alfea Administration Building, with the three school heads standing several steps above.

"You didn't retrieve the bomb, but it's probably better that you didn't. It would be the target of everyone who seeks power all over the realms," said Saladin. "It is my honor to tell you three that your mission was deemed a success,  
and more such teams will be made in the future."

"And...?" interrupted Lucy, crossing her arms.

Saladin grinned, while Griffin raised an eyebrow and Faragonda hid a smile behind her hand.

"You all pass. You're exempt from Final Exams!" he announced.

The four of them got cheers from the fairies and pixies and specialists, while the witches gave some sullen and sarcastic applause.

Timmy, Lucy, and Mirta (with Zing on her shoulder) turned to each other and high-fived, grinning.

It had been a long, hard road for all of them, but now it was over, and the future ahead looked bright.

The End 


End file.
